Schwarber is NL Player of the Week (plus All-Star voting update)

Is it any wonder the greatest power display in one homestand in Nationals history was good enough to be deemed the best performance of the week by anyone in the National League?

Kyle Schwarber, who turned Nationals Park into his own personal home run derby venue, was appropriately rewarded for his efforts by being named NL Player of the Week this afternoon. Not that anyone should be surprised by this announcement.

In seven total games against the Pirates and Mets, Schwarber hit .385 with six homers, 11 RBIs, a .414 on-base percentage and 1.491 OPS. Five of those homers came Saturday night and Sunday afternoon alone, the last three during Sunday's 5-2 victory over New York.

The award officially only recognizes performances from Monday through Sunday, but really Schwarber is being honored right now for his power barrage over the Nationals' entire 11-game homestand. When you add in last weekend's four games against the Giants, he finished the homestand with a .342 batting average, nine homers, 16 RBIs, .395 on-base percentage and 1.448 OPS.

The nine homers are a new club record for a single homestand, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, shattering the previous mark of six held by both Adam LaRoche (Aug. 30-Sept. 9, 2012) and Bryce Harper (May 4-10, 2015).

This surge has completely reshaped Schwarber's season stat line. He entered the homestand batting just .220 with nine homers, 26 RBIs and a .720 OPS. He exited it batting .241 with 18 homers (third-most in the NL), 42 RBIs and an .843 OPS.

"To be honest with you, I don't know what's going on," he said Sunday in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "The consistent work in the cage, I think, has been a big thing. And I think just feeling comfortable at the plate, I think that's a big contributor. I'm not going up there trying to hit home runs."

* With time winding down in the first phase of All-Star voting, Juan Soto is the only member of the Nationals lineup in position to reach the second and final phase and have a chance at making the National League's starting lineup for the July 13 game at Coors Field.

Soto currently ranks sixth among NL outfielders with 353,438 votes. The top nine vote-getters will advance to the second phase, with the top three vote-getters at that point earning the starting nods.

Soto, who has been struggling at the plate to produce his usual All-Star-worthy numbers, trails Ronald Acuña Jr. (1,599,885), Nick Castellanos (1,168,088), Jesse Winker (968,339), Mookie Betts (826,951) and Chris Taylor (413,601). Right behind him are Joc Pederson (319,938), Bryce Harper (319,735) and Tyler O'Neill (281,528).

Trea Turner is the only other member of the Nationals regular lineup to appear in the top 10 at any position. With 221,210 votes, he ranks fifth among NL shortstops, needing a late surge to crack the top three and reach the second phase of voting. Fernando Tatis Jr. (1,326,502) is atop the balloting, followed by Javier Báez (533,002), Corey Seager (361,141) and Brandon Crawford (314,921).

Phase 1 voting ends Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Phase 2 voting ends July 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern, with the winners announced later that evening. The full All-Star rosters, including reserves and pitchers, will be announced July 4.